Independence coal plants are old

Both plants face options about whether to make additional investments in the plants given the costs of upgrading to meet new environmental regulations, other energy alternatives and the overall age of the plants. Both plants recently were listed in a national report as "ripe for replacement."

"The most notable development is the steep decline in coal's share: from a high of over 40 percent in 2009 to just below 3 in 2014. On the other hand, the amount of solar capacity under construction has increased from a fraction of a percent to over ten percent in the latest (2014) report."